


Poker Face

by hurryupsnufkin



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: Confessions, Flirting, Fluff, Heteronormativity, M/M, alcohol is consumed but they're tipsy at most, it's just v cute ok, kind of??, super cheesy tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 02:31:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20350915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurryupsnufkin/pseuds/hurryupsnufkin
Summary: “Can we go back to bed now?” asked Moominmamma, putting down her axe.“Yes, mother,” said Moomintroll. “Snufkin and I will stand guard till the sun gets up. But put your handbag under your pillow to be on the safe side.”Then they sat alone in the drawing-room and played poker till the morning. And no more was heard of the Groke that night.-Finn Family MoomintrollMoomintroll realises that tonight is the perfect opportunity to confess something to his best friend.





	Poker Face

**Author's Note:**

> I literally have no idea how to play poker so I've tried to keep that all as vague as possible but I bet I've still messed it up somehow lmao
> 
> Also I'm a bad writer so this is uhh really bad and it gets really cheesy cause I've never been in love before I'm sorry if you actually read it. Also this fic is super bi cause I'm bi, Moomintroll's bi, and the title is also the name of a Lady Gaga song and she is a bicon.
> 
> Basically this takes place in the autumn of the year after Moominvalley if you wanna place it on a timeline, though with Moomintroll being around 18 and Snufkin around 19.

“Can we go back to bed now?” asked Moominmamma, putting down her axe.

“Yes, mum,” said Moomintroll. “Snufkin and I will stand guard till the sun gets up. But put your handbag under your pillow to be on the safe side.”

“There’s a pack of cards in the drawer if you boys need something to pass the time.” Moominpappa called down as he and Mamma climbed the stairs, sharing a knowing look before disappearing up them.

Snufkin nodded mutely and moved to retrieve said cards and prepare them for a game of poker.

Though everyone else had dispersed to retire to their respective beds (or drawer in Thingumy and Bob’s case), Little My lingered around Moomintroll like a bad smell as he double-checked that the kitchen door was locked. “You two finally taking my advice and getting a room?” she teased.

“Go to bed, My!” he retorted, crossing his arms.

“Okay, okay, keep your tail on!” somewhat surprisingly she didn’t put up much of a fight as she usually did, hopping out of the tea pot she was in and making her way towards the door. Moomintroll sighed in relief.

…a bit too prematurely. “Sure you don’t want me to light some candles to set the mood?” she asked as her hand paused on the door that lead to the drawing-room.

“_My!_” Moomintroll called in a warning tone, but his frown quickly lifted into a warm smile as she sent her signature wink – along, he felt, with some of her confidence – to him before returning to her room. It was nice to have the support of a sister, he thought, no matter how nastily she showed it.

He glanced worriedly into the drawing-room and was relieved to see that Snufkin was dealing out the cards on the table, seemingly unaware of My’s comments. Moomintroll watched appreciatively for a moment as the mumrik’s nimble paws dealt out the cards effortlessly, his warm chestnut eyes downcast and focused, catching golden glints of the kerosene lamp’s glow. _How can someone still be so breathtaking whilst doing something so mundane?_ Moomintroll pondered. _I just wish I could tell what he was thinking; his face is already so expressionless._

Said mysterious man must’ve felt the other’s burning gaze, as he looked up at him through the doorway and smiled invitingly, briefly breaking his perfect poker face as he placed the last card down. “Come on now – we both know the Groke’s gone for tonight. Or is it losing badly that you’re afraid of?” he challenged as he took his seat.

Moomintroll laughed confidently as he walked through and sat opposite the wanderer. “The only one who needs to be scared of losing is you!” He shot back, though internally a small part of him worried that there was something very precious he was in danger of losing tonight.

The two friends played for a few hours, laughing and telling stories in between games. Games that were mostly won by Snufkin, to the other’s dismay.

“Why do you keep winning!?” The troll pouted after suffering yet another defeat.

Snufkin chuckled. “You’re too easy to read. After this many years of friendship, I know all your tells by now.” He teased.

Moomintroll scoffed, crossing his arms indignantly. “Like what, then?”

The mumrik’s eyes wandered to the top of the other’s fuzzy head. “Your ears, for example. Every movement gives something away.” As if on cue, one of the darned things started to flick with embarrassment and Snufkin watched it with amusement and something else that Moomintroll daren’t call fondness, but coupled with being called out for something he hadn’t realised he’d been so obviously doing, it made his already-flushed face (they’d taken a couple of ciders from the cellar at one point) more pink.

“Well…” he leant forward and hovered an arm above Snufkin, whose eyes widened slightly. “In that case, I’ll have to level out the playing field!” Startling the other boy, he yanked the worn green hat from his head and put it atop his own, sitting back down with a triumphant (and – he hoped – flirtatious) smile, that only grew when he spotted a small smirk on the other’s faux-outraged expression. Moomintroll knew that if he were any other creature, like Sniff, he’d be dead by now.

“It doesn’t quite fit me,” he attempted to adjust the awkwardly-placed hat to not much avail, “but there – ears covered!”

Snufkin let his feigned-betrayed expression be broken by a chime of a chuckle that rang sweeter than music in the troll’s ears. “No, it doesn’t quite, but you do look rather cute in it.”

His best friend frowned. “Don’t be cruel. I’m a grown moomin now, not a child.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Snufkin murmured and leant back in his chair, further away from the soft light of the kerosene lamp, which had been slowly burning out. Moomintroll watched a paw run through his exposed hair self-consciously, and his sudden change in heartrate matched the change in atmosphere.

“Um,” Moomin swallowed, realising that his mouth was suddenly quite dry. “Another drink?” he asked abruptly, grabbing both his and Snufkin’s empty bottles. The mumrik nodded stiffly and hummed a thank you, and Moomintroll shot out of his seat and into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

“You idiot.” He groaned to himself. “Why did you have to make things so awkward!?” he placed the empty bottles on the counter and climbed down the cellar steps.

Praying that he still had some of Little My’s confidence stored in him, he took a deep breath and was hit by a familiar outdoorsy scent that came from the hat he now sported, leading him to think of the subject of his affections sitting at that table. He was glad that at least his companion’s face wouldn’t be hidden by his hat when the troll confessed – _bless my tail_, that word didn’t ease his nerves! – what he planned to. It was strange not seeing the familiar outline of the worn hat sitting opposite him, but the other’s presence was still comforting in itself.

Well, usually. Tonight Moomin’s stomach flip-flopped as he grabbed two new bottles and made his way back to the kitchen, and it continued its acrobatics as he removed the caps; he couldn’t help fretting over how he should breach the subject, what he should say, how he should act, how to not get distracted by the cute mess of curls that framed his friend’s handsome face…

“Be yourself!” he heard Snorkmaiden’s pearls of wisdom roll into his mind from somewhere in his memory, “Let the conversation flow naturally.”

He smiled to himself, anxieties soothed slightly by the reminder of his friend’s earlier encouragement, and held the bottles with a newfound resolve before re-entering the drawing-room.

He found Snufkin absentmindedly shuffling the cards, brow slightly knitted into a small frown that instantly became undone as he heard Moomintroll walk towards the table, putting the drinks down rather forcefully before plopping himself back into his chair. Somehow, he didn’t think that was what people meant by the phrase “coming on too strongly”. He took a few big gulps of his drink to quench his thirst and distract from his previous lack of nonchalance.

“Thanks. Ready to try out your new advantage?” said Snufkin, raising an eyebrow as he locked eyes with his opponent.

Moomintroll’s paws gripped his bottle of cider more tightly, his breath hitching as the intimacy of eye contact caused his confidence to falter again. “Actually, um, I think I’d rather take a break. Let’s just chat for a bit.”

He noticed the way Snufkin paused his shuffling, the way his eyes widened in mild panic, the way his body tensed slightly before he recovered his mask, shrugging and carefully placing the cards to the side. “Sure. Something on your mind?” he asked, taking a swig of his drink and keeping it in his paw after placing it back onto the table.

Moomintroll watched as a finger tapped on the glass. He tried to form a sentence in his mind but the words didn’t seem to fit together like they should, swirling around in a confused mess. All he knew is that he should start at the beginning, to explain himself properly, and after a few beats of silence he blurted: “Thingumy and Bob.”

Snufkin’s finger ceased its tapping and he blinked. “What about them?” he questioned after Moomintroll didn’t elaborate.

“Oh! I- um- well,” Moomintroll stared at his own bottle, and found that he couldn’t tell what the label read, its words just joining the jumbled dictionary his mind had become. “I think they’re… very nice.” He glanced back up at Snufkin’s face, searching for more tells. An eyebrow raised.

“Yes, they’re quite sweet.” The corner of his mouth tugged up into a playful smile, and Moomin found his heart being similarly tugged at the sight. “quite devilish, too. They seem to have a rebellious streak that I’d love to see put against the park keeper.”

Moomintroll laughed. “Of course you’d appreciate that, you criminal.”

“I prefer the term ‘freedom fighter’.” He took another swig of his drink.

“You know I’m just teasing you. Your rebelliousness is just one of the many things I lo- admire about you.” Moomintroll praised the booble for the hat covering his ears, which twitched with embarrassment from his slip-up. He hoped Snufkin hadn’t noticed, but he could’ve sworn he held his bottle to his lips for longer than necessary before bringing it back down.

“You know, you can never be truly-“

“-never be truly free if you admire somebody too much, I know, I know.” Moomintroll cut the mumrik off, finishing his philosophy with fond exasperation. “but… maybe there are some things I don’t _want_ to be free from.”

Snufkin frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Moomin took a deep breath, and realised that Snorkmaiden’s advice was right as his mind was no longer as messy as it was. “When I brought up Thingumy and Bob, what I meant to say was… I admire them. At first, I wasn’t quite sure why, maybe because they’d travelled for so long on their own, escaping the Groke, lugging that big suitcase. But then I realised that I just admired them for being together.” He was watching Snufkin’s face carefully, catching any slight twitch in muscle or flicker of emotion in eye. “I asked mamma why they always hold hands, and she said it’s probably because they’re in love.” Snufkin’s eyes changed, his paw dropping from his bottle to land on top of his other on the table, and Moomin smiled fondly at the thought of his patient, understanding mother. “We talked a lot that night, about love. About what it feels like. About how you know when you have it. And then I thought a lot, and I realised - well, I think I’ve _been_ realising since the start of spring, when Snorkmaiden and I broke up – I realised that-“

“Moomintroll, I-“ Snufkin’s eyes were wide with a dawning realisation now, but Moomintroll silenced him by reaching across the wooden table and taking his paws in his own. The poker face all but melted away at the touch and Moomin felt he could finally peer into the heart of his friend.

“Shh, let me finish, please.” He chuckled softly. “I know you think admiration and relationships are some sort of trap or- or prison, but the only thing I’ve felt trapped by is doing what everyone else expects of me. It’s like my heart was caged and-“ he gently squeezed Snufkin’s paws and heard his breath hitch. “and the key has been right in front of me the entire time.” Before Moomintroll could decide whether or not to say more, his eyes met Snufkin’s and in that instant he knew he was understood. Despite the kerosene lamp having dimmed to almost nothing, Snufkin seemed to glow from within as if he had absorbed its light, and Moomintroll felt it rush through him too, the warmth of it, the familiarity, the comfort, the excitement, and he held onto his love as they connected in some invisible way, finally on the same page.

“I love you, too.” Snufkin’s response ignited a spark of joy in Moomintroll’s chest that set his heart aflame with adoration and relief, and it bubbled out of him in a burst of giggles, low and quiet so as not to wake the other residents, and Snufkin quickly joined in the intimate laughter. It was a lovely chaotic sort of music meant only for their ears.

Snufkin brought his lover’s paws up to his lips and peppered them with soft kisses, and the troll realised he hadn’t actually explicitly confessed himself. “Oh, Snufkin, I love you!”

Their giggles subsided and their paws lowered, though they stayed entwined. “You can never trap me, Moomin. Why do you think I return to Moominvalley every spring? This is my home – _you_ are my home.”

“Everything feels so right now,” Moomintroll breathed, gazing lovingly into those hazel eyes he adored so much, warm and content and ready for the future.

“Well, almost everything.” Snufkin broke their paws apart, standing up and walking around to Moomin’s side of the table. He clutched the brim of his hat and lifted it off the troll’s head slowly. “I’ll be taking this back, thank you.” He murmured before leaning down and placing a tender kiss on Moomin’s blushing snout.

Then they sat alone in the drawing-room, poker games all but forgotten as the two whispered and cuddled and kissed till the morning. And no more was heard of the Groke that night.


End file.
